Trucks, e.g. conventional pickup trucks, typically have a cargo bed bounded by a bottom wall and one or more sidewalls and an open portion or bed opening through which cargo is received. It is common to protect such cargo against weather, theft, etc., to selectively close such bed opening with an openable closure, such as a cap or tonneau cover which is supported on the bed walls and overlies the bed opening. Such truck caps and tonneau covers are known to have a locking mechanism that, unlike conventional passenger vehicle doors, are typically simple mechanical devices securing the cover or lift gate by using a pivoting handle actuating a rod or cable to release a latch. The pivoting handle typically has an internal lock tumbler that allows the handle to pivot when placed in the appropriate orientation.
An improvement to this arrangement was presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,650, having common inventorship with the instant disclosure, wherein an electric actuator was arranged at the latch, whereby the latch anchor points were displaced from the latch in order to release the latch without the need to pivot the handle. The pivoting handle would remain locked, necessitating continued access to the remote actuator, or access to the key in order to open the cover multiple times.
A further improvement to this arrangement was presented in U.S. Pat. No. 7,363,786, commonly owned, wherein a locking assembly for a truck bed closure was provided, including an internal frame mounting a slider with a dog-receiving aperture, wherein the slider is shiftable between locked and unlocked positions by rotation of a dog within the aperture, or by the action of an electric actuator upon the slider. Upon release of the slider, a shaft-mounted disk could be rotated, drawing upon latch release cables. The components of this arrangement were somewhat bulky, however, and could be exposed to interference or jamming by debris in the truck bed.
The invention relates to an improved locking handle and power module assembly that provides continued ability to open and close a truck cap or tonneau cover from within or without, and presents an enclosed mechanism to prevent obstruction or jamming.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement, and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.